INSTALLATION OF SHARK NETSby bailey green

With shark attacks appearing a lot in the media in recent times the NSW government has decided to bring back the shark nets off the NSW Coast in an effort to make the public feel safer. The result of this will be devastating for marine life with turtles, dugongs and wales drowning when they are caught in the nets.

While there has been a lot of media attention on shark attacks, the facts are the risk of being attacked by a shark are very low with an average of 15 attacks per year over the last 10 years. Shark nets do more than create an illusion of safety for ocean users. According to Humane Society International, 65% of shark bites occur at netted beaches.

As a regular user of the ocean I always feel I am using the shark’s environment and I am always respectful of that. I know there is always a small chance of running into a shark but I take sensible precautions such as not swimming at dawn or dusk, swimming in groups and not going too far from shore to help avoid running into a shark.

Advances in technology such as drones, smart buoys which can detect sharks and provide warnings to local life guards and personal sonar devices which deter sharks mean we no longer have to rely on an old, ineffective and destructive technology such as shark nets to keep us safe in the ocean.

Shark nets are a horrible representation of what the 1930's technology had to offer, they are horrific but in the end its humans that created them to entangle sharks and keep humans safe from attacks.

Our oceans are an awesome place that provide so much enjoyment and resources. With threats such as global warming and ever growing pollution problems, our delicate marine environment is already under so much pressure, it doesn’t need more with the needless death of so many wonderful and important marine animals. Please say no to shark nets, they’re doing more damage than good and are not needed in our oceans. Come on people, join in to saying no to shark nets.

In this task I informed the reader about a topic I am passionate about. I researched the topic from several sources and then in my own words prepared a newspaper article. I believe I made a good chose of topic, I love being in the ocean and I appreciate all the creatures that live there. Being passionate about a topic helps you to argue the points.

If I had this task to do again I would read the brief a few times, be sure of exactly what was required and seek clarification prior to commencing. I would have completed more thorough research, from more sources prior to commencing initial draft. I would then have planned the layout of my assignment and had my parents review at this stage.

My parents helped me to fill in gaps with further research to support my view points, they then helped me with structure, grammar and spelling. I needed further clarification my teacher, particularly regarding part 3.

The main things that I have learnt about the art of persuasion is that you need to have strong factual information supporting your arguments or point of view. Visual aids can be very effective in getting people’s attention and creating emotional responses.

I believe I used a very powerful image. It directly shows that shark nets kill our beautiful, innocent marine creatures. The shark tail swimming off in the distance has an indirect message that shark nets are ineffective in stopping sharks and hence shark attacks.

I was trying to persuade people to take my side, that shark nets are ineffective in stopping shark attacks, that there are alternative methods to keep safe and that nets only result in the death of innocent creatures. I hope Australia and the rest of the world stop using shark nets.